Automotive vehicle parking system

ABSTRACT

An automotive vehicle parking system wherein the vehicles are parked in a plurality of vertical stacks or columns between a fixed entrance station and a fixed exit station. The vehicles are stored in a plurality of vertical storage units arranged in one or more rows between the entrance and exit stations with each storage unit forming a plurality of vehicle cells arranged in a single vertical column. Each of the storage units is mounted for vertical movement independently of the other units so that any storage cell can be moved vertically to the level of the entrance or exit station, which may or may not be at the same level. A vehicle is driven from the entrance station into a cell in the first storage unit, or over the top of the first unit, and the vehicle may then be driven on through or over the succeeding units until it reaches a cell selected for the storage of that vehicle. When it is desired to retrieve the vehicle from the parking system, the storage cell in which it is parked is moved to the level of the exit station, and the vehicle is driven from the cell to the exit station, passing through or over intervening storage units if necessary.

United States Patent [191 Genest et al.

[111 3,802,579 [451 Apr. 9, 1974 AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE PARKING SYSTEM [22]Filed: Nov. 2, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 303,097

Related US. Application Data 52 us. Cl. 214/16.l EC

[51] Int. Cl E04h 6/06 [58] Field of Search... 214/16.1 R, 16.1 EC, 16.1E; 187/852 [56] 7 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,303,9785/1919 Smith 214/16.1 EC 2,815,873 10/1957 Moore 2l4/16.l EC 3,131,8205/1969 Creedon... 214/l6.1 EC 3,493,129 2/1970 Wohr .l 214/l6.1 EC

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 608,837 4/1926 France 2l4/16.1 CA495,189 11/1938 Great Britain... ..214/16.1'E C 622,546 5/1949 GreatBritain... 214/l6.1 EC 744,968 2/1956 Great Britain... 214/16.1 EC579,327 7/1958 Italy 214/16.l EC

644.058 8/1962- ltaly 214/16.1 EC

Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-R. B. Johnson vAttorney, Agent, or FirmWolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann, Ltd. v

57 ABSTRACT An automotive vehicle parking system wherein the vehiclesare parked in a plurality of vertical stacks or columns between'a fixedentrance station and a fixed exit station. The vehicles are stored in aplurality of vertical storage units arranged in one or more rows betweenthe entrance and exit stations with each storage unit forming aplurality of vehicle cells arranged in a single vertical column. Each ofthe storage units is mounted for vertical movement independently of theother units so that any storage cell can be moved vertically to thelevel of the entrance or exit station, which may or may not be at thesame level. A vehicle is driven fromthe entrance station into a cell inthe first storage unit, or over the top of the first unit, and thevehicle may then be driven on through orover the succeeding units untilit reaches. a cell selected for the storage of that vehicle. When it isdesired to retrieve the vehicle from the parking system, the storagecell in which it is parked is moved to the level of the exit station,and the vehicle is driven from the cell to the exit,

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAPR 9 19M SHEET 3 [IF 3 FIG 6AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE PARKING SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONThis is a division of application Ser. No. 134,021 filed Apr. 14, 1971'now US. Pat. No. 3,717,266 granted Feb. 20, 1973 which in turn was acontinuation U.S. No. 810,674 filed Mar. 29, 1969 which is nowabandoned- DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesgenerally to automotive vehicle parking systems and, more particularly,to an improved automotive vehicle parking system of the type, whichstores the parked vehicles in a plurality of verticalv stacks orcolumns.

It is a primary object of the present invention to providean improvedautomotive vehicle parking system which enables a. multiplicity ofvehicles to be stored. in a plurality of vertical stacks without the useof any lateral. transfer mechanism. In this connection, a related objectof the invention; is to provide. such an improved automotive vehicle.parking system which permits each, vehicle to be driven directly. to theparticular cell in which it is to be parked in the complex of verticalstacks. I

It is another objectof the invention to provide an improved automotivevehicle parking. system of the foregoing type-whichpermits rapid ingressand egress of the parked vehicles. v A further object of the; inventionis to-provide an improved automotive vehicle parking system of the typedescribed above'which can be efficiently operated and maintained over;along operatinglife.

Yet another object of the inventionis to provide such animprovedautomotive vehicle parking system which permits each vehiclecell in the parking system to be moved quickly to andfrom groundlevel,,or the levels at which theentrance and. exit stations arelocated.

A still further object-of, the: invention is to provide such. animproved automotive vehicle parking system which is capableof receivingandsecurely storing automotive vehiclesof different types anddimensions. Other objects and advantages of'the invention will becomeapparent. from the. following detailed description taken inconnectionwith theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG.. 1 is a side elevation, taken along line 1-1 in FIG. 2,. of anautomotive vehicle parking system embodyingthe. invention;

FIG.. 2. is an end elevation taken: along line. 22 in FIG. 1

FIG; 3 is a top'plan-view of the parking system shown i'nFIG'. l; 1

FIG. 4 is anenlarged fragmentary plan view of one ofthe, vehicle cellsin theparking system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the verticalstorage unitsin the parking system-of FIG. 1; and

FIG; 6 isan enlarged end elevation of .the vertical storage unit shownin FIG. 5..vv

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and.alternative forms, certain specific. embodiments thereof have been shownby way of example in the drawin'gs'which; will be described. in detailherein. Itshouldv be understood, however, that it is not intended tolimit the invention to the particular forms disclosed but, on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Turning now to the drawings and referring first to FIGS. 1 through 3,there is shown an automotive vehicle parking system in which thevehicles tobe parked enter the system at a fixed entrance stationindicated generally by the reference numeral 10.. When the parkedvehicles are retrieved from the parking system, they leave the parkingsystem at a fixed exit station indicated generally by the referencenumeral 11.

In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of verticalstorage units are arranged in one or more rows between the fixedentrance and exit stations with each storage unit forming a plurality ofvehicle cells arranged in a single vertical column, and each of thestorage units is mounted for vertical movement independently of theother units so that any vehicle cell in any storage unit can be movedvertically to the level of the entrance or exit station. Thus, in theparticular parking system illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, fivevertical storage units S1, S2, S3, S4,.and S5 are provided in each often different rows R1 through R10 extending between the entrance station10 and the exit station 11. Each of the vertical storage units Sl-SSforms a vertical stack of 10 vehicle cells, such as the cells identifiedas Sla through Slj in the storage unit S1, and

each storage unit is mounted for vertical movement independently of theother units ina vertical track assembly which will be described in moredetail below in connection with FIGS. 4 through 6. While theillustrative system contains ten rows, each containing five storageunits having ten vehicle cells, it will be appreciated that any of thesenumbers may be changed to provide the dimensions and storage capacitydesired in any particular installation.

When a vehicle to be parked arrives at the entrance 1 station 10, it iseither driven over the top of the first hicle 12' may be stored in thecell Sli, in which event the vertical storage unit S1 is raised orloweredto bring another vacant cell into register with the entrancestation 10, or the vehicle may be driven through the first storage unitS1 and then over, into, or through successive storage units for storagein a cell downstream of the first storage unit S1. For example, thevehicle may be driven over the top of a vertical storage unit which isin its lowermost position, such as the unit S2 shown in FIG. 1, andparked in a vacant cell of a succeeding storage unit, such as the vacantcell 83g in unit S3 in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the vehicle can be drivenon through the vacant cell 53g, over the top of the unit S4 and into thevacant cell S52 in storage unit S5 in FIG. 1..Thus, it can be seen thatthere are several different routes that can be followed by any givenvehicle, and normally there are several different alternative parkingpositions available to any given vehicle. However, the particularstorage unit in which the vehicle is actually parked must always bemoved vertically, after the vehicle is parked therein, if it is desiredto maintain an open path between the entrance and exit stations.

It will be understood fromthe foregoing description that anyverticalstorage unit that has'all ten cells filled with vehicles should normallybe in its lowermost position, as in the case of units S2 and S4 in FIG.1, so that vehicles can be driven over the tops of the filled units togain access to vacant cells in successive storage units, such as unitsS3 and S in FIG. 1, or to the exit station 11. When it is desired toretrieve a vehicle from one of the filled storage units, that particularunit is raised until the cell containing. the desired vehicle is at thelevel of the exit station 11. The desired vehicle is then driven out ofits storage cell and over or through the succeeding storage units to theexit station 11. It will be apparent that whenever a vehicle is removedfrom a cell in any given vertical storage unit, that particular unit maythen remain in that position, to permit vehicles from upstream storageunits to pass there through, until another vehicle is parked in thevacant cell from which the previous vehicle was removed. At this point,the storage unit is either lowered to its lowermost position, or raisedor lowered to bring another vacant cell in the unit to the level of theentrance .station 10. Ofcourse, if it is desired to retrieve a secondvehicle from the same storage unit before another vehicle is parked inthe previously vacant cell, the storage unit is moved to bring thesecond vehicle to the level of the exit station 11, and the previouslyvacant cell is filled at some later time.

Turning now more particularly to FIGS. 4-6, each of the vertical storageunits S1-S5 comprises a rectangular box-like frame 50 (FIGS. 5 and 6)mounted for vertical movement in spaced vertical track assemblies 51.(While the system provided by this invention is ideally suited forunderground parking systems of the type illustrated, it is to beunderstood that the system is equally applicable to systems constructedon or above ground level). To raise one or more of the vertical storageunits, conventional drive motors (not shown) mounted in housings 54 atground level are energized to raise the storage units via four metalcables 55. Each of the four cables 55 is secured at one end to therespective storage unit associated therewith and extends upwardly over apulley 56 (FIG. 4) within the housing 54. The other end of the cable 55extends downwardly along the side of the storage unit and is secured toone of a pair of counterweights 57 which ride along the opposed'surfacesof the track assemblies 51. As the storage unit is raised, thecounterweights 57 are lowered and, conversely, when the storage unit islowered, the counterweights 57 are raised. As can be seen most clearlyin FIG. 4, the housings 54 which contain the drive motors and thepulleys 56 for controlling the vertical movement of the storage units Sare located in the spaces between adjacent rows R of the storage units,and are supported on the vertical track assemblies 51 (see FIGS. 5 and6). The counterweights 57 also ride up and down along the trackassemblies 51 inthese same spaces. It will be understood that the drivemotors can be controlled manually by a system operator, preferablystationed at a central control console, or an automatic control systemmay be provided so that the vertical movement of the various storageunits is controlled by signals generated by pushbuttons operated by thevehicle driver s.

Still referring to FIGS. 4-6, as the vertical storage unit S is movedvertically along the track assemblies 51, guiding rollers 60 (FIG. 4)mounted on opposite ends of each storage unit S ride on opposed surfacesof the frames 50 of adjacent storage units. More particularly,

two guiding rollers 60 are mounted on diagonally opposite corners ofeach storage unit S, so'that when a row of storage units is assembled, aguiding roller 60 is provided at each of the four corners of thebox-like rectangular frame 50. In addition to the guiding rollers 60,four sets of rollers 61 and 62 are mounted on the track assemblies 51 tocooperate with the four corners of each vertical storage unit S. Each ofthe four sets of rollers 61 and 62, which are oriented at right anglesto each other, fit within vertical channels formed by the storage unitframe 50, so that the rollers 60, 61 ride on opposed surfaces of thechannel members as the storage unit is moved vertically. Consequently,it can be seen that each storage unit is supported and guided at each ofits four corners by means of the three rollers 60, 61 and 62; theserollers serve to maintain the storage unit in the desired orientationwith respect to both the stationary track assemblies 51 and adjacentstorage units. It is significant to note that the mounting and guidingarrangement between adjacent storage unit permits each storage unit tobe moved independently of adjacent storage units, and yet the storageunits are positioned sufficiently close to each other that vehicles canbe easily driven from a cell in one unit to an aligned cell in anadjacent unit, thereby permitting a free flow of vehicles along apredetermined path through each row of storage the 51-85 between thefixed entranceand exit stations 10 and 11, respectively.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, eachvehicle cell in the various storage units S is adapted to automaticallyposition vehicles of different wheel base dimensions within the cell.More particularly, each vehicle cell includes means for camming thewheels on only one side of an entering vehicle to a predeterminedtransverse position within the cell so that vehicles of varying wheelbase dimensions are automatically positioned within the cell. Thus,referring to FIG. 4, the floor of each vehicle cell forms a pair of siderails and 71, and a raised central portion 72. The right-hand side ofthe central portion 72 extends substantially parallel to the side rails70 and 71, while the left-hand side of the central portion 72 graduallyexpands toward the left-hand rail 70 in the direction of vehiclemovement. That is, the width of the central portion 72 graduallyincreases, beginning with a relatively narrow width at the entrance endof the cell and expanding to a maximum width at the exit end of thecell. More particularly, the width of the central portion 72 is suchthat the space between the left-hand side 73 of the central portion 72and the side rail 70 at the exit end of the cell is only slightly widerthan the maximum width of a vehicle tire. Whenever a vehicle enters thecell with the wheels on the left side of the vehicle spaced away fromthe left side rail 70, the left front wheel of the vehicle engages theleft-hand side 73 of the central portion 72, so that the surface 73gradually cams the vehicle to the left as the vehicle advances along thecell floor. Consequently, regardless of the vehicle width, the left-handwheels of the vehicle are automatically positioned within the trackdefined by the side rail 70 and the exit end of the camming surface 73.

For the purpose of automatically positioning each parked vehicle in thelongitudinal direction, each of the vehicle cells also includes atransverse recess formed in the floor of the cell for receiving one ofthe vehicle wheels. Thus, in the illustrative embodiment illustrated inFIG. 4, a transverse recess 80 is formed between the raised centralportion 72 and the right-hand side rail 71 so as to receive the rightfront wheel of an entering vehicle. When the vehicle driver feels theright front wheel drop into the recess 80, he knows that the vehicle hasreached its parked position; thus, the vehicle is automaticallypositioned in the longitudinal direction so that there is no possibilityof an over-hanging portion of the vehicle interferring with the verticalmovement of the storage unit. If desired, of course, thetransverserecess can be formed in another portion of the cell floor so as toreceive a different vehicle wheel. However, it is important that therecess receive only the front or rear wheel or wheels of the vehicle, sothat the cell is universally applicable to vehicles of different length,including different wheel base dimensions. As an alternative, twolongitudinally spaced recesses may be formed in the cell floor, with thefirst recess being used for relatively short vehicles, such as thevehicle 81 in FIG. 5 and the second recess being used for relativelylong vehicles, such as the vehicle 82 in FIG. 5.

The floor of each vehicle cell in the storage units S is secured to theunit frame 5 0, and, in addition, a pair of reinforcing structuralmembers 90 and 91 (see FIG. 5) interconnect the sides of each verticallyadjacent pair of cell floors so as to provide the overall storage unitassembly with a rigid construction. Also, each storage unit is providedwith an elongated base portion which is reinforced with a plurality ofcrossed structural members, such as the side members 92 shown in FIG. 5,so that the lowermost cell can be raised to ground level while stillmaintaining a sufficient length of the storage unit down between thetrack assemblies 51 to maintain the unit in a rigid upright position.Thus it can be seen that the elongated base portion 93 shown in FIGS. 5and 6 has a height about equal to that of two to three vehicle cells sothat even when all the vehicle cells are above ground level, theelongated base portion 93 cooperates with the track assemblies 51 tostabilize the vertical storage unit, and to maintain the same in astable vertical position.

While the invention has been described with specific reference to oneparticular embodiment, it will be understood that various modificationsmay be made in the illustrative system within the scope of the presentinvention. For example, the motor-driven cable drive arrangement may bereplaced with hydraulically powered elevating systems for the variousstorage units. As another example, if the parking system is locatedabove ground level, the base structure described for the illustrativestorage units may be eliminated. Another possible modification is thesubstitution of automatic locking devices for the floor recesses, toposition the vehicles within the various parking cells. Furthervariations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, in thelight of the teachings contained herein.

As can be seen from the foregoing detailed description, the presentinvention provides an improved automotive vehicle parking system whichenables a multiplicity of vehicles to be stored in a plurality ofvertical stacks without the use of any lateral transfer mechanismwhatever. More specifically, the improved parking system provided by theinvention permits each vehicle to be driven directly to the particularcell in which it is to be parked in the complex of vertical stacks. Thissystem permits rapid ingress and egress of the parked vehicles, and canbe efficiently operated and maintained over a long operating life.-Furthermore, the parking system permits each vehicle 'cell in the systemto be moved quickly to and from ground level, or to the levels in whichthe entrance and exit stations are located. Finally, the system iscapable of receiving and securely storing automotive vehicles ofdifferent types and dimensions.

We claim as our invention:

. 1., An automotive vehicle parking system comprising the combination ofa fixed entrance station, a fixed exit station, a pluraliy of verticalstorage units arranged in a plurality of rows between said entrance andexit stations with each storage unit forming a plurality of vehiclecells arranged in a single vertical column, each of said storage unitsbeing mounted for vertical movement independently of the other units sothat any vehicle cell in any storage unit can be moved vertically to thelevel of the entrance or exit station; means for vertically moving eachof said vertical storage units to bring selected cells therein intohorizontal alignment with the entrance or exit station or with selectedcells in adjacent storage units, said entrance and exit stations beinglocated at ground level and said vertical storage units being mountedfor vertical movement belowground level so that the tops of said storageunits are located at ground level when said units are in their lowermostpositions, the tops of said storage units being adapted to cooperatewith each other to permit vehicles to be driven thereover between saidentrance and exit stations when said storage units are in theirlowermost positions the first storage unit in each of said rowscooperating with said entrance station to permit a vehicle to be drivenfrom said entrance station into any cell of said first storage unit thatis disposed at the level of said entrance station, the last storage unitin each of said rows cooperating with said exit station to permit avehicle to be driven to said exit station from any cell of said laststorage unit that is disposed at the level of said exit station, all thestorage units in each of said rows being aligned with each other andadapted to cooperate with each other so that a vehicle may be drivenbetween said first and last storage units by passing through empty cellsof intervening storage units, each of said storage units also beingadapted to be lowered completely below 'said entrance station so thatvehicles can be driven over any given storage unit when all the cells inthat unit are occupied by vehicles, and independent drive means for eachof said vertical storage units so that all the storage units in a givenrow can be moved to different vertical positions at the same time, saiddrive means comprisingat least one cable connected at one end to thebottom of the vertical storage unit and at the other end to acounterweight, said cable being trained over a pulley located in thespace between adjacent rows of said storage units, below the level ofsaid entrance and exit stations and below the top of the verticalstorage unit when said unit is in its lowest position, each of thevehicle cells in said storage units including means for automaticallypositioning entering vehicles in both the longitudinal and transversedirections, and motor means for driving said pulley to control theraising and lowering of the vertical storage unit.

2. An automotive vehicle parking system as set forth in claim 1 whereineach of said vehicle cells is elongated in the longitudinal direction ofthe row in which the cell is located.

3 ,802,5 79 7 8 3. An automotive vehicle parking system as set forth toform said vehicle cells.

in claim 1 whlch includes a statioflary frame Clefining 4. An automotivevehicle parking system as set forth tracks for vertical movement of saidstorage units, and each storage unit includes a rigid frame and aplurality I of horizontal vehicle Supporting members Secured to saidstorage units are of substantially umform we said rigid frame andvertically spaced from one another in claim 1 wherein the vehicle cellsformed by all of

1. An automotive vehicle parking system comprising the combination of afixed entrance station, a fixed exit station, a plurality of verticalstorage units arranged in a plurality of rows between said entrance andexit stations with each storage unit forming a plurality of vehiclecells arranged in a single vertical column, each of said storage unitsbeing mounted for vertical movement independently of the other units sothat any vehicle cell in any storage unit can be moved vertically to thelevel of the entrance or exit station; means for vertically moving eachof said vertical storage units to bring selected cells therein intohorizontal alignment with the entrance or exit station or with selectedcells in adjacent storage units, said entrance and exit stations beinglocated at ground level and said vertical storage units being mountedfor vertical movement below ground level so that the tops of saidstorage units are located at ground level when said units are in theirlowermost positions, the tops of said storage units being adapted tocooperate with each other to permit vehicles to be driven thereoverbetween said entrance and exit stations when said storage units are intheir lowermost positions. The first storage unit in each of said rowscooperating with said entrance station to permit a vehicle to be drivenfrom said entrance station into any cell of said first storage unit thatis disposed at the level of said entrance station, the last storage unitin each of said rows cooperating with said exit station to permit avehicle to be driven to said exit station from any cell of said laststorage unit that is disposed at the level of said exit station, all thestorage units in each of said rows being aligned with each other andadapted to cooperate with each other so that a vehicle may be drivenbetween said first and last storage units by passing through empty cellsof intervening storage units, each of said storage units also beingadapted to be lowered completely below said entrance station so thatvehicles can be driven over any given storage unit when all the cells inthat unit are occupied by vehicles, and independent drive means for eachof said vertical storage units so that all the storage units in a givenrow can be moved to different vertical positions at the same time, saiddrive means comprising at least one cable connected at one end to thebottom of the vertical storage unit and at the other end to acounterweight, said cable being trained over a pulley located in thespace between adjacent rows of said storage units, below the level ofsaid entrance and exit stations and below the top of the verticalstorage unit when said unit is in its lowest position, each of thevehicle cells in said storage units including means for automaticallypositioning entering vehicles in both the longitudinal and transversedirections, and motor means for driving said pulley to control theraising and lowering of the vertical storage unit.
 2. An automotivevehicle parking system as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of saidvehicle cells is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the row inwhich the cell is located.
 3. An automotive vehicle parking system asset forth in claim 1 which includes a stationary frame defining tracksfor vertical movement of said storage units, and each storage unitincludes a rigid frame and a plurality of horizontal vehicle supportingmembers secured to said rigid frame and vertically spaced from oneanother to form said vehicle cells.
 4. An automotive vehicle parkingsystem as set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle cells formed by allof said storage units are of substantially uniform size.